Gun sight mounting



March 14, 1944. w. H. DARDENNE 2,343,863

GUN SIGHT MOUNTING'.

Filed March 4, 1942 3 Sheets-Shaft 2 March 14, 1944. w. H. @ARDENNE 2,343,863

GUN SIGHT MOUNTING Filed March 4, 1942 s sheets-sheet 3 w/T/vfsf I 5735 l 5V.

HTTRNEY Patented Mar. 14, 1944 UNITED STATS 'ENT ortica GUN SXGHT MOUNTING Application March 4, 1942, Serial No. 433,245

7 Claims.

The invention relates to a gun sight mounting and is directed specifically to a mounting which is so constructed and arranged that the front sight of aiming apparatus for a machine gun is moved out of sighting position and out of the way of the cartridge belt magazine as the magazine is removed from the gun for replacement by another magazine,

As heretofore constructed, the aiming or sighting apparatus of certain types of machine guns has been so designed that the front sight is mounted on the gun in a position adjacent the magazine from which the loaded cartridge belt is fed to the firing mechanism of the gun, and

the design of the gun as well as the design of the` aiming apparatus has made it difficult to relocate the magazine or the front sight. The disadvantages of this relative location of the magazine and the front sight have been emphasized by the use of a ring sight, particularly for defense against aircraft. This is due to the fact that the overall diameter of such a sight is such that the outer ring of the sight extends into the path through which the magazine must be moved in removing it from the gun for replacement by a loaded magazine.

Attempts have been made in the past to overcome this difliculty by supporting the magazine in such a way that it could be removed without injury to a sight 4of the ring type. These attempts have not 'been successful for the reason that those who man a machine gun used against aircraft must operate at high speed when in action, and in consequence the ring sight is often damaged or ruined by the impact of the magazine therewith in removing the magazine from its support. This difficulty is overcome in the present improvement 'by providing for the ring sight a mounting which is so constructed and arranged that the sight, `although-locked in place while in sighting position, is 'releasable for movement out of sighting position by engagement of the magazine with suitable releasing mechanism and with the sight as the magazine is removed from the gun. The improvement is so designed that the movement of the magazine as it is removed from its support operates first to release the sight locking device, and upon further movement it operates to move the sight out of its path and thus out of sighting position.

From vthe above it will be apparent thatthe principal object of the invention is the prevention of injury to the front sight by the magazine as the latter is removed from the gun for replacement. Another object is the provision of a mounting for the sight which permits the sight to be moved out of the path through which the magazine is moved when it is being detached from its support. Still another object of the improvement is the provision of releasable locking means for rigidly holding a movable sight in sighting position. A further object of the improvement is the provision oi means actuated by the removal of the magazine for releasing the sight locking device. A still further object is the provision of a sight mounting which is so constructed that the operation of removing the magazine from its support serves first to release the sight locking device, and then to move the sight out of its path of movement in a manner to obviate the possibility of damage to the sight. Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description, taken with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a well known type of machine gun with the present improvement embodied therein;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevational view of the gun shown in Fig. 1, with parts thereof omitted, and

with the ammunition box in place and the front sight in aiming position;

Fig. 3 is a View somewhat similar to Fig. 2,- but showing the position assumed by the front sight as the ammunition box is removed from its support;

Fig. 4 is a rear elevational view of the movable plate upon which the front sight is mounted;

Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view, partly broken away, showing the ammunition box and its support;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view, partly broken away, showing the ammunition box and its support;

Fig, '7 is an enlarged rear elevational view showing the details of construction of the mounting for the front sight;

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken on the une s-a of Fig'z; and

Fig. 9 is a side elevational View of the front sight and its mounting;

While the present improvement may be used with other types of guns, as disclosed herein it is adapted to a Well-known type of machine gun mounted on a xed pedestal l0 for swinging movement about a vertical support Il onv the pedestal and. for movements of elevation and depression on a horizo-ntal axis I2. As is Well understood, such a gun is provided with a movable shield I3 of armor plate having a vertically extending central opening I4 through which the barrel of the gun and its associated parts may operate, with a back strap I for the gunner, with a set of handles I6 by which the operator directs or aims the gun, and with the usual shoulder brace l1.

The barrel casing I3 is of known construction and serves to house the barrel of the gun as well as to form a chamber for a cooling fluid aro-und the barrel. The breech casing I9 encloses the ring mechanism, the cartridge belt feeding mechanism, and the cartridge feeding and ejecting mechanism, the cartridge belt being fed from a magazine 25 which is usually supported on the gun in such a manner as to be easily and quickly removed. The usual sighting apparatus with which such a gun is equipped comprises a rear sight 2| adjustably mounted on a bracket 22 secured on the outer end of the breech casing I 3, and a front sight 23 mounted near the junction of the barrel casing i8 with the breech casingv I9. It is customary to mount both the front sight 23 and the magazine 23 near the horizontal axis I2 in order that these parts may be as near as possible to this centeil of movement, and this location of the magazine and the front sight requires that they be closely adjacent to each other.

The present improvement relates particularly to the mounting for the front sight 23 and the manner in which this mounting cooperates with the magazine as the latter is removed from the gun for replacement by another loaded magazine. The magazine in connection with which the improvement is disclosed herein, is of a type commonly employed for holding a loaded cartridge belt, and is provided with a suitable opening 24 through which the loaded belt is drawn by the cartridge feeding mechanism of the gun, the belt being fed to the firing mechanism through a suitable opening 25 in the upper forward portion of the breech casing I9. The opposite edges of the magazine 20 on the side adjacent the gun are provided with flanges 26 or the like for engagement in oppositely arranged guideways 21 in a bracket 28 secured to one of the side plates 29 ci the gun support, Suitable stop members 33 are provided at the lower ends of the guideways 21 to limit the downward movement of the magazine 20 when in position on its support 28. The magazine may be provided with one or more handles 3l by which it may be manipulated.

The improved mounting for 'the front sight 23 includes a xed bracket 32 which is secured to the gun by a retainer band 33 on the gun near the junction of the barrel casing I8 and the breech casing IS. The bracket 32 is located on the gun -by a stud 3K5, and it is secured to the band 3.3 by bolts 35. Movably mounted on a Divot pin 33 near the upper end of the bracket 32 is a mounting plate 3,1 the swinging movement of which is limited by a pin 38 xed in the .bracket 32 and operating in an arcuate slot in the plate. A socket 40 on the upper end of the plate 37 receives the lower end of the stem ffii for the front sight 23. Preferably the stem il is constructed so as to be adjustable in a vertical direction by threaded adjusting bushings 42, and is retained in adjusted position by a set screw 3. At its upper` end the stem il supports the front sight 23, this being a wellknown formV of ring sight comprising a plurality of concentric rings 44, a horizontal cross wire .'35, a vertical cross wire 46, and angular cross wires 41.

The means which has been devised for releasably locking the mounting plate 31 against movement when the front sighi-l is in aiming position comprises a latch 48 having a nose 49 which is arranged to engage within a cooperating notch 50 in the curved lower edge 5I of the plate 31. The latch 48 is pivoted on a pin 52 secured in a lateral extension 53 on the bracket 32, and its upper or lever end 54 extends into the path of movement of the magazine 20 as the magazine is removed from its support, and is oiset as shown in Fig. 9 to bring it substantially into the plane of the ring sight 23. A spring 55 coiled around an enlargement on the pivot pin 52 Ahas one end hooked over the latch lever 54 as shown at 56 and its other end 51 in engagement with the head of the pin 33. As thus arranged, the spring 55 tends to maintain the latch nose 49 in engagement with the plate 31 and to force the nose into the notch 50 when the plate 31 is moved to bring the front sight 23 into proper aiming position.

As will be apparent from the showing in Figs. 2, 3 and 1 of the drawings, when the magazine 25 is moved upwardly to disengage it from its supporting bracket 28, its curved side wall 58 comes into contact with the latch lever '54 and this operation serves to disengage the nose of the latch from ,the notch 50, thus leaving the plate 31 free for movement in a clockwise direction upon the pivot pin 36. Further movement of the magazine 2U in an upward direction brings it into engagement with the outer ring of the front sight 23, and the plate 31 is thereby moved about its pivot pin 35 until the mass of the sight and its connected parts moves past center, whereupon the sight continues to move under the action of gravity until it is stopped by the pin 33 and slot 39 in the position shown in Fig, 3. When the empty magazine thus removed is replaced by a loaded magazine, `the sight 23 may be restored manually to the position shown in Fig. 2. The latch nose '4B Will then engage within the notch 50 in the plate 31 and retain the sight securely in aiming position until the latch is again released by the removal of the magazine. It will be understood that when the sight 23 is in its normal sighting position the mass of the movable parts is so located with respect to the pivot pin'36 as to tend to move the sight in a counter-clockwise direction about the pin 35, and thus tend to retain the sight in this position until it is again moved over center in the opposite direction. The latch insures that the sight will not be displaced accidentally from normal position, as by Vibration of the gun.

While a preferred construction of the improvement has been disclosed herein, together with a certain arrangement of the various parts thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the precise form and arrangement of parts disclosed. The above description and the accompanying drawings are therefore to be regarded as illustrative only, and it is to be understood that the invention is susceptible of other forms and arrangements so long as they come within the scape of the a-ppended claims.

What I desire to claim is:

1. In a machine gun having a sight supported thereon and a magazine attached thereto adjacent said sight and disengageable therefrom by movement in a given path, a mounting for said sight comprising a bracket fixed to the gun, a

plate pivoted on said bracket, means for attaching said sight to said plate, a latch mounted on said bracket and engageable with said plate to retain said sight in sighting position, and means projecting into the said path of movement and actuated by engagement of said magazine therewith to disengage said latch from said plate.

2. In a machine gun having a sight supported thereon and a magazine attached thereto adjacent said sight and disengageable therefrom by movement in a given path, a mounting for said sight comprising a bracket xed to the gun, a plate pivoted on said bracket, means for attaching said sight to said plate with a portion of said sight in the path of movement of said magazine as said magazine is removed from the gun, a latch mounted on said bracket and engageable with said plate to retain said sight in sighting position, and means projecting into the said path of movement and actuated by engagement of said magazine therewith to disengage said latch from said plate whereby said plate may be free to move about its pivotal mounting as said magazine is moved into contact With said sight.

3. In a machine gun, the combination of a magazine detachable from its support by movement in a given path, a bracket xed on said gun, a sight mounting movably supported on said bracket, a sight on said mounting and movable therewith into and out of said path, a latch on said bracket and engageable with said mounting to releasably hold said sight in said path, and releasing means connected to said latch and projecting into said path, the movement of said magazine to detach it from its support engaging first with said releasing means to actuate said latch and then with said sight to move it out of said path.

4. In a machine gun having a magazine attached thereto and disengageable therefrom by movement in a given path, a bracket xed to said gun, a sight pivotally secured to said bracket for movement into and out of said path, a latch device on said bracket for releasably retaining said sight in said path, and means engageable by said magazine for releasing said latch as said magazine is moved in said path, toward said sight.

5. In a machine gun having a magazine attached thereto and disengageable therefrom by movement in a given path, a sight pivotally mounted on said gun for movement into and out of said path, a latch for releasably retaining said sight in said path, and means engageable by said magazine for releasing said latch as said magazine is moved in said path toward said sight.

6. In a machine gun having a magazine attached thereto and disengageable therefrom by movement in a given path, a sight mounted on said gun for movement into and out of said path, releasable means for retaining said sight in said path, and means engagea'ble with said magazine, as said magazine is moved in said path toward said sight, for actuating said releasable means.

7. In a machine gun, a sight mounted for movement into and out of sighting position, latching means for holding said sight in sighting position, and a magazine detachable from said gun by movement in a fixed path into engagement with said latching means to release the same and move said sight out of sighting position.

WALTER H. DARDENNE. 

